My son, Luke, appeared too suddenly and caught me off guard.

I had not brought him with me today.

When William heard him call me “mommy,” he looked at us in disbelief.

I pulled Luke closer and shielded him behind me as I looked at William with caution.

I wanted to attend the event quietly, and yet, I had become the focus of the entire room.

Luke was shy around strangers. He clutched my hand tightly, and his face flushed.

His eyes shone with a mix of curiosity and unease.

He looked at William in open hostility.

William had not treated me kindly earlier, so it was only natural for Luke to think his mother was being mistreated.

I patted his back gently and comforted him in a low voice.

I tried to appear calm, but inside, my emotions churned and refused to settle.

William’s gaze felt like a sharp blade, piercing straight through me, as if he were trying to carve something out.

I could hear the whispers around us, closing in like a tight net.

The pressure wrapped around me, making it hard to breathe.

“Is that really Emma’s child?”

“A child who made Emma give up her career and disappear for so long? Who’s he really?”

“Do you think he could be William’s?”

“That can’t be! If the child were William’s, why would Emma have left?”

“Difficult to figure out, to say the least. Everyone in our circle knew how desperately Emma chased after William…”

Every word struck my heart like needles.

I knew they were curious, eager to uncover the truth and pry into my past.

I held Luke tightly as painful memories surfaced.

It felt as though only by doing this could I protect him and us.

William’s friend Jake, who had grown up with him and Stacy, stood beside him with a stunned face.

Jake looked at me. His gaze was conflicted with doubt and shock.

There was also something else that I could not read in his face.

“Emma, is this your child? What’s his name?”

He clearly needed confirmation.

After all, in their eyes, I loved William so deeply that I would have died for him.

How could someone like me suddenly have such a grown child?

No one answered him.

I stayed silent and held Luke close.

He seemed to sense the heavy atmosphere, and his grip tightened around me.

Then, in a soft, childish voice, he said, “My name’s Luke Green.”

It was not Wells but Green.

William felt the world spin, and he nearly collapsed.

His eyes were filled with doubt.

“You… you don’t believe he’s my child?” I said softly. My voice was filled with mockery and exhaustion.

William looked at me, and he seemed shocked.

He opened his mouth as if to speak, but in the end, he said nothing.

He simply stood there, silent, like an abandoned child.

“Don’t Luke and I look alike?”

William trembled slightly.

He looked at Luke and then at me, finally seeing the resemblance between us.

Regret filled his eyes.

He remembered the hospital notice he had received after I left.

It clearly stated that I had miscarried.